I really have to compliment Paizo on the awesome Maps of Mystery included in recent issues of Dungeon. The "Cinderforge" in #137 is really nice and "The Forsaken Rift" in #136 was very unique and inspirational. I noticed the maps are related (Cinderforge & Forsaken Rift, that is--nice touch!) I've already used "Vault of the Deathlord" from #131 in my GH campaign as the lair of a Suel lich.
Keep it up, those maps make excellent gateways for little mini-adventures or for stocking my campaign world with pre-mapped locations. Great time saver and very attractive maps--I love the sideviews and 3-D maps particularly.
I'm assuming Christopher West is doing these maps, as the compass rose is his signature, yes? Great stuff....
Creative Director
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Yeah, they take names too.
Really love the volcano in the ice cave.
As a question to the gatekeepers of the tome adventurous, has anyone ever submitted a query based on a Map of Mystery, and is it a thing not to be done?
We ran an adventrue based on a map of mystery back in issue #103; Glacial Inferno. That's it. I'd rather not re-use maps of mystery in adventures, to tell the truth. Use them to insprie your own maps in submissions to the magazine, certainly, but once we use a map of mystery in an adventure, it ceases being mysterious. Which is one of the thigns people seem to really like about these maps; that they tell stories without having the actual story told.
If that makes any sense.
I think I'm one of the few people who doesn't like Maps of Mystery much. *shrug* That's OK - I'm used to having a minority opinion. For example, I think I'm absolutely brilliant, while most people disagree. :D
"Two can be as sad as one;
it's the loneliest number since the number one."
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I hate getting my magazine so late! Everyone's already gotten a chance to rave/rant about it before I do.
Let me add to the chorus regarding Cinderforge's kick-assedness. I loved the map of mystery last issue, and having a new map of mystery focused on a portion of that map is brilliant! Will there be more in this series?
"Two can be as sad as one;
it's the loneliest number since the number one."That gets a little more omph with Elan standing to the side with the lute in-hand. PLAY 'FREE BIRD'!!
*flick's lighter and waves it.
o/`
Make, make,make that emo post!
o/`
Oh, on-topic, I love the MoM's, too. :) And I notice they showed up (conceptually) in MM IV.
-The Gneech
-The Gneech
I hate getting my magazine so late! Everyone's already gotten a chance to rave/rant about it before I do.Let me add to the chorus regarding Cinderforge's kick-assedness. I loved the map of mystery last issue, and having a new map of mystery focused on a portion of that map is brilliant! Will there be more in this series?
I completely agree. The Cinderforge is the first map I have really liked enough to use personally. I would like to see yet other parts or 'levels' of the Cinderforge mapped in the future. I have never seen a good map of a Dwarf/Moria style stronghold that I liked in other published materials. This map is really good.
I'm assuming Christopher West is doing these maps, as the compass rose is his signature, yes? Great stuff....
Can someone answer the question? Is the compass rose style Christopher West's signature? If so that is a pretty cool spin on incorporating ones signature into ones artwork.
Anyway I agree the Maps of Mystery have been great recently and that Ice Glacier Volcano is just exceptionally evocative.
I think it is, Jeremy, because when I look at the maps from the web enhancement of each magazine, it says "Christopher West" in small print underneath the map. Thank you to Mr. West for the really cool maps.
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I'm assuming Christopher West is doing these maps, as the compass rose is his signature, yes? Great stuff....
Yep, that's me. :)
Thanks for the compliments! I've really been excited about the Maps of Mystery we've been putting out lately, and I'm glad to see you folks have been enjoying them, too.
Oh, and to be somewhat on topic: Forsaken Rift and Cinderforge were excellent, but my favorite was still the hidden pirate's cave from a while back. Part of it was that it was just so timely for me. They are a great addition!
That has always been a favorite of mine, too. With Dead Man's Chest out now (the first one came out around the same time as the first movie, and was inspired by it to a large extent), I may have to do another nautical/pirate-themed map soon.
Let me add to the chorus regarding Cinderforge's kick-assedness. I loved the map of mystery last issue, and having a new map of mystery focused on a portion of that map is brilliant! Will there be more in this series?
Not immediately, but if the response to the related Maps of Mystery is positive enough, and Sean doesn't mind, I'd certainly enjoy revisiting the Forsaken Rift and exploring more of the sites within it. The Rift is a personal favorite of mine, and I think the locations marked on that map could make fun Maps of Mystery all on their own. Someday I'd like to run a whole campaign set there. I find the Drakebourn Sanctum particularly intriguing; I imagine it as a cliff-top fortress that is generally accessible only by flying and/or climbing mounts.
I would like to see yet other parts or 'levels' of the Cinderforge mapped in the future. I have never seen a good map of a Dwarf/Moria style stronghold that I liked in other published materials. This map is really good.
Thanks, Allen! I don't currently have any plans to detail the other levels of Cinderforge (I guess that's the "Mystery" part in "Map of Mystery") so folks can develop them for their own campaigns without worrying about me overwriting whatever they come up with. That said, if there's enough demand for more details about the place that the guys at Dungeon ask me to revisit it, I'd be happy to do so.
While it definately was designed with dwarves in mind (I figure it takes a special kind of stupid to carve a city out of an active volcano, but if anyone can pull it off, it's the dwarves!), I also imagine a large task force of azers are probably involved, either operating the deepvalve, or toiling over the magma forges. Maybe a new subrace of dwarves called "Ash Dwarves" with a natural fire resistance from working in volcanoes?
Ack, don't get me started, or I'll have to go back there. ;-)
Can someone answer the question? Is the compass rose style Christopher West's signature? If so that is a pretty cool spin on incorporating ones signature into ones artwork.
Yep, that's my signature and directional key, all in one. I figure if your last name is a direction and you make maps for a living, it just makes sense. :)
Anyway I agree the Maps of Mystery have been great recently and that Ice Glacier Volcano is just exceptionally evocative.
Thanks!
Anyway, I think you can expect to see more intertwined Maps of Mystery in the future, though they'll always work as stand-alone maps as well. I doubt you'll ever need to have a copy of the previous one to use the next one.
Thanks for the feedback, folks!
Maps of Mystery are awesome and always inspire an adventure or two out of me even if the ideas never make it to paper.
Thanks for the maps! The quality of the maps are awesome and your work is really top-notch Mr. West... (Lol... nice...;))
Woot!
--SilverCourage
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Maps of Mystery are awesome and always inspire an adventure or two out of me even if the ideas never make it to paper.
Thanks for the maps! The quality of the maps are awesome and your work is really top-notch Mr. West... (Lol... nice...;))
Thanks very much!
Incidentally, I'm always happy to hear about encounters & adventures that people have placed in my Maps of Mystery, so if they ever do make their way into your games, please don't be afraid to post about them. :)
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Let me just say that I think you're maps are always awesome and in my opinion they are the best in the business.
Whenever I get a new issue of Dungeon the maps are the first thing I look at.
Personally I have a soft spot for city maps. I never got a chance to use Guildport, however because a friend of mine snatched it up first!
He is about to use it as the focal point for a new campaign.
Anyways keep up the good work, Chris!
What, no one wants to bring back Wil Save? The editors loved that column. :P
The map of Guildport is used for the town of Dullstrand in my campaign. I use virtually all of the maps of mystery at some point in my campaign...they're so useful.
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Thanks, Koriatsar!
Wow, Guildport...that takes me back. I think that was the first full-color map I designed professionally, and it became my first Map of Mystery. I worked on other maps that showed up in the magazine sooner, but that was a map I originally created as a portfolio piece and took to Gen Con as I was just starting out in the business...which was right at the dawn of 3rd Edition as Dungeon went to full color.
Glad to hear it's still getting play! I based the earliest adventures of my first 3rd Edition campaign in, around, and under that city. :)
What, no one wants to bring back Wil Save? The editors loved that column. :P
I enjoyed Wil Save, myself. I wasn't certain about it at first, but he won me over in the first installment. I did always think it would be more appropriate in Dragon, though.
Let me add to the chorus...
AWESOME maps Chris....they are the bomb...
Now, a request for help...if any of you know the answer. I am looking for a specific map for tomorrow nights campain. It was a Red Dragons lair of some sort with all sorts of great elevation changes, some hot springs and even lava pools. I can't seem to find it anywhere....I thought it was a map of mystery, but I can't seem to find it. Is it one, or am I looking in the wrong place altogether???
Thanks for the help!
Christopher,
Any chance we might see a compilation of your maps of mystery (and some others) in a loose map pack, similar to what Wizards has published? My checkbook and I would be right there....
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Now, a request for help...if any of you know the answer. I am looking for a specific map for tomorrow nights campain. It was a Red Dragons lair of some sort with all sorts of great elevation changes, some hot springs and even lava pools. I can't seem to find it anywhere....I thought it was a map of mystery, but I can't seem to find it. Is it one, or am I looking in the wrong place altogether???
Yep, that was a Map of Mystery. One of my early favorites, actually. Try Dungeon #102.
Any chance we might see a compilation of your maps of mystery (and some others) in a loose map pack, similar to what Wizards has published? My checkbook and I would be right there....
That would be completely up to Wizards. I believe they hold the rights to the maps from Dungeon following publication. I'd be excited to see such a book come out too, but it's not my call.
As my kids get older and I continue to build more work time into my schedule, I may someday try to create and publish a book of new maps like those, but it'll be a while. Working on the new modern maps for the Critical Locations book proved to be a mammoth undertaking, and nearly did me in.
Thanks for your interest, though! It's good to know there would be a market for such a book. :)
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What programs do you use to create the maps?
Almost all of my work is done in Adobe Photoshop. I sketch the maps by hand first, scan them into my computer, and build the imagery on top of the sketches. I'll occasionally use other software or even digital photos to generate new textures for things, but even these are then tailored within photoshop to suit the map.
I'd love to see the third part of the dwarven mines some day, I think it got put off when Maps of Mystery were removed from the magazine back then.
Anyway, great work, Christopher!
I'm reluctant to dump water on anyone's parade, but I would just like to express my opinion since not everyone's needs are similar. Maps of Mystery do nothing for me. I certainly appreciate the exquisite maps that Christopher West provides, but have no use for the Maps of Mystery since I usually run Dungeon modules which come with maps and I have no problems drawing up small maps for any unique campaign needs that arise.
Since the Maps of Mystery take up only a single page in Dungeon, I have no problem seeing them occasionally and won't launch into a tirade (as a few other messageboard posters did regarding a certain author who used to be published on the same pages now occupied by those Maps of Mystery).
Hurm.
The map of Guildport is used for the town of Dullstrand in my campaign. I use virtually all of the maps of mystery at some point in my campaign...they're so useful.
Where was that one from ? I don´t recall it...
(The first that fails when you get older is your short-term memory, the second is... I forgot...)Stefan
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The map of Guildport is used for the town of Dullstrand in my campaign. I use virtually all of the maps of mystery at some point in my campaign...they're so useful.Where was that one from ? I don´t recall it...
(The first that fails when you get older is your short-term memory, the second is... I forgot...)Stefan
That little jewel is from Dungeon #85.
That little jewel is from Dungeon #85.
Thanks. No wonder I didn´t remember - thats been over five years ago...
It really is a nice and very adaptable map.Stefan
Chris, I would like to add my appreciation to the appreciation of fans already out there. Many of your maps have been outstanding if not brilliant (and let's not forget the maps for adventures that you do for the mag as well). I don't have my copy of 137 yet, but I envisioned Cinderforge as a dwarven city (as probably other people did as well) and I'm glad to see that we were not disappointed. Keep up the good work, and hopefully we will see another adventure out of you as well :)
I'd love to see the third part of the dwarven mines some day, I think it got put off when Maps of Mystery were removed from the magazine back then.
Anyway, great work, Christopher!
I second that, I used the first two as a 'wing-it' adventure and the party after barely escaping the mines always vowed to return...
And since Chris is too polite to pimp his own wares I would encourage people to check out the City Quarters books by Green Ronin. Excellent maps and great source of campaign ideas for a generic city location.
I'd love to see the third part of the dwarven mines some day, I think it got put off when Maps of Mystery were removed from the magazine back then.
Anyway, great work, Christopher!
I second that, I used the first two as a 'wing-it' adventure and the party after barely escaping the mines always vowed to return...
And since Chris is too polite to pimp his own wares I would encourage people to check out the City Quarters books by Green Ronin. Excellent maps and great source of campaign ideas for a generic city location.
Hey, cool---I'm going to check that out because that's something I most certainly need (well...need is a strong word--want is more like it)
Christopher West--
Let me just say thanks for all of your maps of mystery, and most of those in the pages of dungeon. They have been inspirational for ideas when i needed a quick adventure setting for the night and didn't have time to prep. The Dragon lair cave system ended up being the home of a Great Wyrm red dragon that my players had to fight a few years ago. Then, there was the icicle fortress of the cryomancer. I turned the cryomancer into a half Elemental duergar wizard (conjuror) who wanted to creat para ice elemental dwarves as an army to destroy a local dwarven town that had angered him. Then there was the Pirate caves and the pirate stronghold town in the jungles that my players had to hole up in to escape the clutches of a brutal ogre mage pirate that was using the cave system. oh, the list oges on and on.
you have even inspired me to create maps on corel draw. and i'm sure there are a lot of folks out there with adobe photoshop that would love to hear some tips and tricks to get their maps looking as beautiful as yours. i know i would. :)
anyway, keep up the great work, and thanks for helping make my campaign fun and exciting with all of the maps. also, if you put a book out with all of them, count me as one of your first buyers!
I'd enjoy a map of a citadel built onto the inside wall of a volcano, similar to the first Shrek movie. I simply don't have the ability/talent to design this caliber of maps. We're counting on youuuuuuuuuuuu
Thanks, Koriatsar!
Wow, Guildport...that takes me back. I think that was the first full-color map I designed professionally, and it became my first Map of Mystery. I worked on other maps that showed up in the magazine sooner, but that was a map I originally created as a portfolio piece and took to Gen Con as I was just starting out in the business...which was right at the dawn of 3rd Edition as Dungeon went to full color.
Glad to hear it's still getting play! I based the earliest adventures of my first 3rd Edition campaign in, around, and under that city. :)
What, no one wants to bring back Wil Save? The editors loved that column. :PI enjoyed Wil Save, myself. I wasn't certain about it at first, but he won me over in the first installment. I did always think it would be more appropriate in Dragon, though.
I think I'd put Mr West up for Best Cartographer, with a nice big trophy made from ham. You did a great job of the maps for my published adventure and I never got a chance to praise you, cheers big ears!
I plan on using the Sewer Stronghold as a thieves' guild in Waterdeep. That map goes well with the sample thieves' guild in one of the recent issues. Such great resources!
Speaking of maps, I need a generic Continent map without cities and roads on it that I can download for free, anyone know where I can find one?
FH
I've been told that the Gimp, which is a free downloadable Photoshop clone, has a map generator built into it.
TK
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I'd love to see the third part of the dwarven mines some day, I think it got put off when Maps of Mystery were removed from the magazine back then.
If you mean the "Dungeon's Delve" set of linked maps, I, too, am eager to complete that set. I had hoped to finish up the third installment long ago, but for various reasons it got put on a back burner, where it has been stewing all this time. Hopefully we'll get that out soon.
Let me just say thanks for all of your maps of mystery, and most of those in the pages of dungeon. They have been inspirational for ideas when i needed a quick adventure setting for the night and didn't have time to prep. The Dragon lair cave system ended up being the home of a Great Wyrm red dragon that my players had to fight a few years ago. Then, there was the icicle fortress of the cryomancer. I turned the cryomancer into a half Elemental duergar wizard (conjuror) who wanted to creat para ice elemental dwarves as an army to destroy a local dwarven town that had angered him. Then there was the Pirate caves and the pirate stronghold town in the jungles that my players had to hole up in to escape the clutches of a brutal ogre mage pirate that was using the cave system. oh, the list oges on and on.
you have even inspired me to create maps on corel draw. and i'm sure there are a lot of folks out there with adobe photoshop that would love to hear some tips and tricks to get their maps looking as beautiful as yours. i know i would. :)
anyway, keep up the great work, and thanks for helping make my campaign fun and exciting with all of the maps. also, if you put a book out with all of them, count me as one of your first buyers!
Thanks for all the kind words! Sounds like you've gotten a lot of use out of the Maps of Mystery, and I'm excited to hear how you combined the pirate cave with the jungle trading port in one adventure! The half-elemental duergar wizard is a cool idea as well! (Pun not intended.)
There are probably a lot of good mapmaking tutorials on the web, but since I keep hearing quests for tips and tricks, I suppose I could write up an article and pitch it to Dragon or Dungeon one of these days.
How about Chris' website?!
There are a few maps there.http://www.velocity.net/~westwinds/
Eeek...I guess I had better find time to update that soon. It's grotesquely out of date. I have no means of tracking how often it is visited (never bothered to put up a counter) so I'm always surprised when someone mentions it.
I'd enjoy a map of a citadel built onto the inside wall of a volcano, similar to the first Shrek movie. I simply don't have the ability/talent to design this caliber of maps. We're counting on youuuuuuuuuuuu
Sounds like fun! I doubt I'll do another volcano-related map for a while, but I'll keep this idea in mind for future reference. :)
I think I'd put Mr West up for Best Cartographer, with a nice big trophy made from ham. You did a great job of the maps for my published adventure and I never got a chance to praise you, cheers big ears!
Cool! What adventure was that?
A trophy made out of ham probably wouldn't last very long, but it would no doubt be enjoyable for the first couple of sandwiches. :)
That reminds me, though, that Shackled City is up for several ENnies, including Best Cartography; I guess I had better go vote before I forget again...
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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That reminds me, though, that Shackled City is up for several ENnies, including Best Cartography; I guess I had better go vote before I forget again...
The Shackled City maps were terrific. I appreciated that you worked the key into the map itself so I didn't have to flip pages and port the map into a different adventure more easily. I was really dissapointed when I learned you weren't doing the maps for Age of Worms. I find those maps to be fairly pedestrian, particularly when compared to the vivid works that you put out. The poster map for Diamond Lake looks like something an ambitious DM put together; not like the map of Cauldron which looks like a professional piece of work.
Are you going to be doing the Savage Tide by any chance?
Ultradan sings along...
Thanks Mr. West for the awesome maps. As I've written before in prison mail, those maps often spark more ideas than the entire magazine (I still love the magazine, though). They are great to have around when a DM really needs them.
And I too would like to see a compilation of your maps (and other maps from past issues...). Then the adventures would never stop.
Ultradan
(Thanks for all the kind words! Sounds like you've gotten a lot of use out of the Maps of Mystery, and I'm excited to hear how you combined the pirate cave with the jungle trading port in one adventure! The half-elemental duergar wizard is a cool idea as well! (Pun not intended.))--Christopher West
Hey, no problem man. i'd love to tell you about that particular adventure. An ogre Mage sorcerer became an admiral of a priate fleet that had ruled this part of the sea for many months. the characters had fled through the jungle away from a group of lizardmen zombies ruled by a vampire lizard king. they got to the jungle outpost and the zombies were picked off by the guards. This outpost had been thier save spot while they were exploring the jungles of a new realm for the current monarchy. That's when they heard about the pirate king ogre mage, so they hired a boat and went out in search of this ogre. They got caught in a huge fleet battle (played with Pirates cards from whizkids) and finally fought with 2 ships. both thiers and another ship that was run by orcs went down in shark infested waters. the PCs captured the other ship and killed the orc crew. however, the orcs had slaves of all races and creeds that wished to bring revenge on the orcs and they joined with the party. One of the goblins on the ship told the PCs about the cave, and so they went there at a direct heading. Under cover of night they infiltrated the cave and proceeded to fight from one room to the next. they failed a few hide checks, the alarm went out and all hell broke loose. it was about 20 rounds of fighting during which three PCs lost thier lives. one to drowning after being thrown over a bridge to his watery platemail filled death.
yet another was thrown into the water but survived just in time to reach the shore and get hit with a lightning bolt that did her in. She was a rogue halfling and was down to about 10 hit points when she hit the water, and got out. then a shark came down around her, ripped her body in half, and there was a feeding frenzy.
The third to die was a paladin, who had inadvertently gotten himself surrounded and pinned by a group of orcs and brought down where he was CDGed. Finally the Ogre was cornered by the three remaining PCs and killed.
Everyone had a great time though, and the map of the cave was a tremendous challenge. but for the sacrifice of three true adventurers, the town would have been ruled by the ogre sorcerer.
The other adventure written with the aid of your maps was the Cryomancer's icicle tower. frankly, that is the best map you have made IMO. A truly inspired bit of arcitechture. beautiful map, and probably the best laid out creation to date. This tower was the home of a Duergar that had made a pact with a fiendish ice elemental to help him get revenge on a local dwarven town. he had come into the town to get supplies after having been exiled from his own clan. This dwarven town saw him as an enemy and expelled him from the town. feeling unwanted, this man took up the cause of wizardry, bent on revenge to those who had scorned and exiled him to a frozen death in the icy wilderness.
with walls of ice and conjuration spells, along with the help of the fiendish Ice Elemental, (named Kar'lask'cus), he created the icicle tower to serve as a summoning site for creatures from the elemental plane of ice to be meshed with dwarves to form fiendish half ice elemental dwarves as warriors to first destroy the dwarven town, and then enslave the dwarves to serve as another army to further end the tribe that had scorned him at first.
The party started in a town of the dwarves, named Aar-Muktar. They heard about the disappearance of a couple of dwarves and went into the hearby glacial mountains to find out what was going on. they found a glacier cave and went in, finding the icicle tower. long story short, they prevailed in stopping the conjuror, but not after fighting for 6 rounds with various summoned creatures, and it was a tough slog through the entire thing. lots of slipping on ice, one character fell off a shelf when he was pushed by one of the para ice elementals. That was the rogue, once again. this time she had a ring of featherfall but no real way to get back up to the tower. later the wizard of the party flew down and picked her up.
All in all, two great adventures that the party had fun with, and mostly your Maps inspired the sessions. thanks once again.:)
What programs do you use to create the maps?Almost all of my work is done in Adobe Photoshop. I sketch the maps by hand first, scan them into my computer, and build the imagery on top of the sketches. I'll occasionally use other software or even digital photos to generate new textures for things, but even these are then tailored within photoshop to suit the map.
And if we were so inspired as to submit maps for the MOM page, is there a format you prefer working from? You probably can't publish maks made from Campaign Cartographer or Dunjinni.
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Thanks for the compliments! :)
Are you going to be doing the Savage Tide by any chance?
Not unless they ask me to do so very suddenly; I think the first installment should be coming out soon, and I haven't been involved on it. I'm gradually rebuilding my production capacity following the birth of my second child and a harrowing couple of years, and I think the team at Paizo could sense that I wasn't able to commit a great deal of time to such a project in recent months. I hope to be more involved with cool projects like this in the future, but for now I've just been doing the Maps of Mystery.
Any word on your one-pager Map of Mystery/entire module on a map proposal?
No word yet; I haven't had the time to put one together to show the guys at Paizo an example of what I have in mind, but I hope to do so soon. I also have a poster-sized Map of Mystery in the works, that I hope I can persuade Paizo to buy when it's finished. I might give that the deluxe treatment and use it as another example of what's possible when maps and adventures converge into one blended piece of art.
Hey, no problem man. i'd love to tell you about that particular adventure. An ogre Mage sorcerer became an admiral of a priate fleet that had ruled this part of the sea for many months. the characters had fled through the jungle...
Wow, sounds like a blast! I had no idea the pirate cave would become such a killer dungeon. It makes me proud, in that gleeful evil-DM sort of way, to have helped inspire such a wild and deadly good time. :)
And if we were so inspired as to submit maps for the MOM page, is there a format you prefer working from? You probably can't publish maks made from Campaign Cartographer or Dunjinni.
While I work from authors' sketches for most adventure maps, all of the Maps of Mystery I've done so far have been original creations of my own imagining. The MoMs are often a mystery to even the Art Director until he receives the finished work; I think the folks at Paizo enjoy the surprise of seeing what the next MoM will be as much as some readers. (Though they do sometimes suggest ideas for future maps that will work nicely alongside the other content of an issue.)
That being said, if they send me a sketch and ask me to illustrate it as a MoM, I'd certainly do so. I imagine you should follow their guidelines for maps submitted with adventures, which is to say it should be clean and clear: not so cluttered with details as to make it illegible, but detailed enough to tell the cartographer what needs to be shown in the map. I always try to peruse the adventure text before I start working on maps for an assignment, and I sometimes include details from the adventure text that weren't even shown in the author's sketches, so accompanying text to describe the environment is always welcome at my end of things. If your map itself is clear and interesting, it should be fine.
A few tips for adventure mapmaking:
1) Allow the boundaries of rooms to conform to a 5-foot grid whenever practical. Not only does this facilitate D&D gameplay using miniatures, but it also makes my job of illustrating your map easier. Not every wall and room needs to be straight and absolute to this grid (and indeed, doing so can make the map too dull), but if your map is going to have a grid, passages and corners should generally follow it.
2) Conversely, natural caverns should never conform to a grid, or they stop looking natural. It's OK to keep the grid and miniatures in mind while defining the general arrangements of the walls (to avoid ambiguity as to whether a square should be treated as a wall or an open space), but if you follow the grid too closely your map will look like a place carved by humanoid hands instead of the forces of nature.
3) When mapping a dungeon, try to avoid having your map fill the corners of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper unless there's a real in-game reason for it to be a big rectangle. The arrangement of areas in a place should be governed by the decisions its architect(s) in the game world would make, not the dimensions of the graph paper the author had available to sketch it on.
4) Always labeled the scale of the map, and mark the directions in some way. When showcasing a really big area on one map, it's OK to use a grid where 1 square = 10 feet, 20 feet, or more...just remember to keep map elements in scale with the grid, and mark the grid appropriately. If you're using a 20-foot grid and you draw a bed taking up a whole square, the players are going to wonder what kind of giant lives there (which is fine if it's a giant's bed, but confusing if it belongs to a gnome). Likewise, it's confusing to the cartographer and/or readers if you don't label the scale and directions on a map in the first place.